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I’m as ambivalent about the word “foodies” as the next chef (I love people who are excited about food, but I feel weird that we need a special label for them) but one place I like seeing it all the time is on Open Table’s Fit For Foodies rankings. Their users rate restaurants across the country and one of the categories is whether it’s “fit for foodies” or not. Once a year they total up all the results and list the 50 restaurants which received the most votes as “fit for foodies” in the country. San Francisco rocks it this year with 14 restaurants in the top 50. Chicago comes in second with 6 wins. And New York City comes in third (bronze – yuck!) with 5 restaurants in the Top 50. They are:

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Aldea (George Mendes)

Annisa (Anita Lo)

Blue Hill (Dan Barber)

WD-50 (Wylie Dufresne)

Dirt Candy (Amanda Cohen)

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Here’s the full list.

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Thanks to everyone who voted. I’m extremely proud to be included on a list that prestigious, and it means a lot to me that this is based on votes from people who actually ate here. I really do think Dirt Candy is a special place, and my tiny staff* and I try hard to make sure that when people eat at Dirt Candy they have the best experience possible. It’s nice to know that it’s working.

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* – I don’t mean that they are leprechauns, I just mean that there are very few of them.

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